License-holder for motor-vehicles.



C. H. FAWCETT.

LICENSE HOLDER FOR MOTOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED MM2?. Isla.

Patented Jau. 28, 1919.

CHARLES H. FAWCETT, 0F INDEPENDENCE, IOWA.

LICENSE-HOLDER FOR MOTOR-VEHICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 28, 1919.

Application filed May 27, 1918. Serial No. 236,886.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. FAwoETT, a citizen 0f the United States, residing at Independence, in the county of Buchanan and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in License- Holders for Motor-Vehicles, of which the following is a specication.

My invention relates to improvements in license holders for motor-vehicles and the like, and the object of my improvement iS to supply for such vehicles suitable framing `or holding means for an officially issued license card, such means permitting the insertion of the card but preventing its withdrawal without mutilation such as would destroy it for further use if altered. Other improvements are more specifically hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

My improvements are successfully accomplished by the means which are hereinafter described and claimed, and which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of the basal part of the device with cover removed, showing the friction-rolls and card-cutting means on one of them, and showing the spring-pawl and ratchet-device employed for controlling the rotation of the cutter bearing shaft; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of said basal part, showing the cover placed thereon, the cover only being shown in vertical longitudinal section; Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section of said device, with the cover removed, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a like longitudinal section taken on the dotted line 4-4 of said Fig. l; Fig. 5 is an lelevation of the'card-receiving end of said device; Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section of the complete device, taken on the dotted line 6-6 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 7 is a like section, taken on the dotted line 7-7 of said Fig. 2; Fig. 8 is a top plan of the complete device as assembled with its cover and base secured together and containing a license card, and Fig. 9 is a view of the complete device, partially in side elevation, and partially in longitudinal section, showing the exposed sealing-means between the cover and the basal part.

Similar numerals of reference denote corresponding parts throughout the several views.

It is my design to furnish a license holder to be permanently attached to a motor-car or the like, to securely hold a license card,

the card being made out for a certain term, as a year, and to expire by limitation at the close of that period, requiring renewal by the issue and placing of a new license card.

The usual method is for the license issuing official to periodically supply metal plates for attachment to a car, such plates display-V ing the license number and name of the State issuing the plate, and sometimes giving the year also. This is a source of considerable expense, and Often such a plate is allowed by the owner or user of a car to remain on the car long after the licensed term has expired, thereby largely defeating the end sought in licensing. Besides, delays are incurred in securing such plates from the issuing official, in renewing a license, and all these inconveniences are obviated by the employment of my improved device, as will fully appear from what is hereinafter stated.

Referring now to the drawings, the numeral 1 denotes the solid basal part of the device, hereinafter denominated the base. This base is preferably of rectangular form having depressed end feet or extensions 2 provided with medial reamed out holes 3 to receive the screws 4 to secure the device to some part, such as the chauffeurs door, of the car.

Each side edge of the base has a longitudinal groove 18 for a use to be mentioned later. The top part of said base is depressed longitudinally below side ribs or shelves 5, the depressed space between said shelves supplying clearance for the passage of a license-card 22 thereinto. One end of said base is slopingly removed at 6 transversely to provide a sloping entrance slot 23 between said slope 6 and the like sloped part 0f the hollow cover 20, said slot being used to pass the card 22 through slantingly to enter the interspace of the shelves 5. To facilitate the movement of the card into said interspace, I provide a rotatable shaft 10 covered with a frictional soft rubber cover or tube S mounted in a transverse trough 7 in the tionally engaging said card and carrying it along until the card passes upon another shaft 14 at the opposite end of the base seated in a transverse trough 11 thereof. A similar soft rubber sleeve 12 covers the shaft 14, being medially divided into halves on opposite sides of a fixed annular knife or cutter 13, which latter engages the card as the latter passes over it to split the card longitudinally into halves in case the card is propelled entirely through the holder to issue from the exit-end thereof.

The one end of the shaft 14 has like engaging-means for a screw-driver tip, whereby it may be rotated in a direction to carry the card 25 out of the exit-port of the holder while the annular cutter 13 is splitting the card in halves. To prevent opposite rotation of the shaft 14, I place a fixed ratchetwheel 15 on the opposite end of said shaft, the teeth thereof being engaged movably by a spring-bar pawl 16 seated in a shallow depression or seat in one shelf 5. Reverse rotation of the shaft is thereby prevented, so that a card can not be propelled toward and out of the receiving-slot 23 far enough to be grasped and then removed from the holder intact for purposes of alteration. It should besides be noted that when the card 25 is received fully within the interspace of the shelves 5, its rear end elastically flies up into the general plane of the card and any attempt to shove the card back will be defeated, because the rear transverse edge of the card will engage a square shoulder 21 on that transverse part of the cover 20 which lies opposite that end of said interspace.

When the card 25 has been introduced into the complete assembled device, it is secured therein in the manner described, and is displayed as is shown in Fig. 8. Before placing the card in the holder, the parts of the holder are permanently assembled and secured together by the following means.

A cover 20 is provided for said base 1, of open frame construction to receive and retain a beveled glass plate 19, whose peripheral edges are seated and included between the beveled or rabbeted lower inner parts of the cover, the plate resting partially upon the shelves 5, and the side parts of said cover overhanging the s ide edges of the base 1 to fit same closely. The exit-end of' said cover part is cut away beneath to provide a free exit opening for the split card as it issues from the device. The other end overhangs the end of the base slopingly, as above, described to supply an upwardly inclined slot or way for the entering card, and a squared shoulder 21 to prevent its retrogression.

'Ihe inner wall of each side depending part of said cover has a longitudinal groove corresponding in size, shape and location with the groove adjacent thereto at 18 in the base, and the said cover part has on each side a small orifice extending into its said groove, said grooves being in registration when the cover is litted upon the base to make a closed longitudinal hollow. When the cover is so iitted to the base, solder or other suitable preparation may be run into said hollows through said orifices 31, to solidify in the hollows and seal the parts together so that they can not be separated from each other without destroying the license-holder.

lIhe license card 25 may be of any desired type as to color or contents. lIhe example shown, which may be varied as desired, contains a large distinct numeral 30 of the year term for which the card is issued, and at one corner in equally large letters the name of the issuing State, at 33. Upon said card at 26 may appear the license number; at 27 the plate number of said device; at 2S the name of the car; at 29 the makers car number; at 31 the name of the owner of the car, at 32 his post-ollice address, and at 34 a reserved space for the signature of the official issuing the license.

The color of the card, or of the characters thereon may be changed at each renewal, so that it will be easy to ascertain at a glance if the card is in force or not. The cards may be issued by local persons, such as bankers, made depositaries by the issuing official, for the convenience of the applicants, and since the license holder is permanent, but little expense is incurred in the supplying of the license card or in their distribution, and may be had at accessible places to save time in renewals. As before mentioned, the removal of a card through the operation of the device, insures the destruction of a lapsed card, before a renewal card is inserted therein. Various modifications may be effected in the details of my said device, without departing from the scope of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a device of the character described, a base, a cover therefor fixedly sealed thereon to provide a card receiving interspace therebetween having an alined outlet and an obliquely directed and interiorly stepped inlet for a card, said device having means therein adapted to movably engage and move a card through said interspace from the said inlet toward said outlet.

2. In a device of the character described, a base, a cover therefor fixedly sealed thereon to provide a card receiving interspace therebetween having an inlet and an outlet for a card, said device having a pair of frictionrollers rotatably positioned across the receiving and the delivery ends of the interspace adapted to independently and successively movably engage the advancin end of a card in said interspace to move it t rough the interspace toward and through said outlet.

3. In a device of the character described, a base, a cover therefor Xedly sealed thereon to provide a card receiving interspace therebetween having an inlet and an outlet for a card, said device having a plurality of means adapted to independently movably engage a card in said interspace to propel it through the interspace toward and through said outlet, the propelling means nearest said outlet containing a defacingelement for defacing the card on its passage thereby toward the outlet.

4. In a device of the character described, a base, a cover therefor fxedly sealed thereon to provide a card receiving interspace therebetween having an inlet and an outlet for a card, said device having a plurality of means adapt-ed to independently movably engage a card in said interspace to propel it through the interspace toward and through said outlet, the propelling means nearest said outlet containing a defacing element for defacing the card on its passage thereby, and other means for preventing retrogression of the card toward said inlet.

5. In a device of the character described, a base, a cover therefor provided with a glazed window, said cover being fixedly sealed upon said base to provide a card receiving interspace therebetween having an inlet and an outlet for a card, means for moving said card through said interspace from said inlet to ward said outlet, and means for defacing the card as it moves toward said outlet.

6. In a device of the character described, a body having a longitudinally positioned Copies of this hollow adapted to receive a card and having both inlet and outlet openings, means within said hollow for propelling a card therethrough in one direction only, and means for lefacing the card on its exit from said hol- 7. In a device of the character described, a body having an interior card receiving and delivering passage covered by a transparent window, and means movable within the passage to propel a card therethrough in one direction only and to deface it on its exit from said passage.

8. In a device of the character described, a body composed of parts iXedly united and having an interior passage for a card fitting same, said passage having both inlet and outlet openings, the walls of the inlet opening being sloped and having an interior shoulder to form an abutment against the rear end of the card when fully introduced into the passage to prevent retrogression thereof, and means within said passage for propelling a card therethrough toward said outlet opening.

9. In a device of the character described, a body having an interior passage to receive and lit a card for movement therethrough and provided with both inlet and outlet openings for the card, and a friction-roller mounted rotatably across said passage near the outlet opening engaging and propelling the card toward the outlet opening, said roller having an annular cutter fixed thereon adapted to longitudinally split the card as the latter passes over said roller toward the outlet opening.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

CHARLES I-I. FAWCETT.

patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

